Mighty tough territory

There are four scenes within The Great Movie Ride that allow for guest, or should I say Cast Member, interaction. We touched upon the Underworld sequence on Friday, where a gangster hijacks the vehicle for their getaway. The others include the scene where the villain gets there comeuppance at the statue of Anubis and the back-and-forth banter with the Wicked Witch of the West. The final scene of interactivity is one of those rare glimpses not seen very often these days.

Once upon a time, The Great Movie Ride ran each movie tour with two sets of vehicles, which meant there were two vehicles had to be commandeered by scum and villainy. The scene most guests are familiar with today, the Underworld, was achieved with the second vehicle being ‘stopped’ by the red light. The exchange between The Great Movie Ride tour guide and the gangster known as Mugsy allowed for the first vehicle to sweep into the Old West and find its own predicament.

In the Old West takeover, the tour guide hears that someone is robbing the bank and springs into action. In the moments that follow, the tour guide rushes into the bank, the sheriff begins his shoot-out, and the bank robber blows up the bank before taking the tour vehicle hostage. Just like Mugsy, the bank robber will receive their retribution at the statue of Anubis, and the guests will continue on with the show.

The bank robbery scene is still run at The Great Movie ride, only with fewer performances; so few, in fact, that I felt it had every right to be discussed in a history article. To be clear, in all the trips I have taken to Walt Disney World and Disney’s Hollywood Studios since the Gazette began I have not once seen the Old West scene, and only once have I been on the ride when there were two sets of vehicles running for the bank robbery to even take place. Sadly, the sight seen below is not as common as it once was, but I guess every great western ends with a ride off into the sunset.